Research On Some Of Cultural Differences In Early Childhood

Cultural Differences in Early Childhood EducationNameInstitutional AffiliationDate
Introduction
Definition of Culture
Psychologist and educator Barbara Rogoff define culture as the common way in which the participants in the society share skills and knowledge. Barbara argues that both groups and individuals contribute to the concept of culture and as a result, there is the need to view culture as something that is dynamic and not static CITATION Pen10 \l 1033 (Penny, 2010). She also vies the traditional definition of culture as being made of traditional values, beliefs, and practices to be so simplistic and recommends that culture is more complex and dynamic and it can be defined as the relationship between the various individual and their social-cultural context. The definition of Barbara about culture reflects the concept of development of a child that the development of a child is shaped by various factors such as the social-cultural environment in which they live in, their parents, the actions and the actions that they engage themselves. While talking about the social-cultural context in the development of the children, we are referring to the various factors that affect the development of children. Each of us belongs to a particular culture that is made up of different beliefs and practices that were passed to us through various methods.
Aspects of Cultural Differences between Families and Cultures
1 Eye Contact
Eye contact is one of the aspects of communication and also a valuable source of information in many cultures. In a conversation little or no eye contact may mean that there is a lack of interest or even mistrust. Eye contact can also convey different meanings among different families and cultures. In some cultural families especially those from the United States, eye contact is regarded as a basic form of nonverbal communication, and it is as firm as a handshake. In other cultural contexts such as France, eye contact is regarded as a symbol of politeness and also respect. This may not apply to children from different cultural families.
Middle Eastern families and cultures have strict regulations that regard eye contact between the various genders. The regulations are based on the various religious laws about appropriateness. There is only a brief moment of eye contact that is permitted between a man and woman. However, it should be known that women from the western families traveling in Muslim countries should not expect eye contact from the men who come from the Middle East. Men may try to make eye contact with the women. However, it should also be known that returning eye contact will also be considered as saying "yes, I am interested." Therefore making eye contact with the opposite gender should be done with care. Maintaining eye contact with the members of the same gender in the Middle East is allowed and may be interpreted that one is telling you the truth.
2 Toileting
There are important cultural differences that exist between the methods that are used to toilet train a child. Children who come from the western culture tend to achieve bladder and bowel control at the age that is between 24-48 months of age. On the other side, the girls achieve bowel and bladder control at a younger age than the boys CITATION Alb14 \l 1033 (Alberto & Paola, 2014). The average time that is taken by a child from the initiation of toilet learning to the attainment of independent toileting can vary from a period of 3-6 months.
Depending on the family cultures, toilet learning readiness is dictated by the age of a child. Children must be psychologically and physiologically ready to begin the process. Parents and educators should pay attention and patience to the task on a daily basis for several months.
Cultures in India, China, and Africa offer support to toilet-training practices that begin within the first 12 and sometimes the ones that begin as early as six. Given that during such an age, the babies are carried closely the parents of the children from these cultures are always able to recognize and also respond to the elimination cues of the infant. Training the children to manage toileting at such an age requires parental supervision, and it comes with the advantage of avoiding the use of diapers and complications that come with the use diapers.
Other cultures in European and US families offer toilet training to their children when they are 12 to 18 months old. Training at such an age comes with its challenges since it is at the age when the children have begun to walk. The child may also not be willing to sit patiently on the potty seat and might have learned to prefer the use of diapers. However, as apparent if you realize that your child is not receptive to toileting at such an age, then you will need to begin by reinforcing good bathroom behaviors such as flushing the toilet or singing songs that are related to toileting.
Early Childhood Education
Early childhood education focuses on the development of the children from birth up to age 8. It is always concerned with practice research and also a theory in the field. The field includes aspects such as child care, curriculum development, administration, discipline and development of early elementary education. The stage is very critical to the development of a child and as such an educator should be careful when they are handling the children at such an age. Different children have different family backgrounds that are associated with different cultures, and early childhood educators are tasked with the responsibility of identifying the differences among the children and come up with ways of making sure that they become fit to the rest of the members of the society CITATION Flo16 \l 1033 (Flores, Curby, Coleman, & Melo, 2016).
As an educator, you should be able to recognize the cultural diversity that exists among the children that you are teaching and learning of the ways to handle them. Children identify themselves with particular groups based on their birthplace, ethnicity, language, beliefs and their view on the world. As an educator, you should show support to the children who come from different families by talking to them and respecting their cultural needs. By valuing and accepting cultural diversity, you will encourage the children and avoid conflict within themselves when they grow up.
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